WHY 5S AT TEXTAAFOAM
Textaafoam moved to a beautiful new building in Tilburg in 2019. The perfect opportunity for a 'fresh' start. A start where Textaafoam wanted to make this new location 5S proof. Here you can read more about the 5S implementation at Textaafoam.
Before the move there were 2 locations, which sometimes caused confusion in terms of stock and deliveries. There was a lot of unnecessary material and no clear standard way of working, resulting in regular damage to (vulnerable) fabrics.
With this fresh start, Textaafoam wanted to create a workplace that is safe, standard and tidy. Hence the 5S implementation at Textafoam. Before the move, a huge battle was made with the sorting of unnecessary and necessary materials. Only necessary materials have been moved.
At the new location, a robot system is used that programmed the right materials from the warehouse for making coupons. The actual making of the coupons is still done by hand. This includes picking orders for customers and unloading and storing new stocks. Nice processes for a standard working method that reduces deviations and increases efficiency.
THE 5S ROLL-OUT
Because of the move we had a head start with the 1st 2 Ss: sorting and shining. Many unnecessary materials were not moved and because the location was still very new, it was also relatively clean. Still, it will not surprise anyone that we found stuff for the red label area and some dust clouds appeared left and right.
The challenge was mainly in arranging things. What is the best place for the different materials and how do we create flow in a blank canvas? We split up into groups to brainstorm per department what walking and moving routes are and how to create flow on the shop floor based on that. Then we created a floor plan of the desired situation for each department and the employees started practicing with it.
Unfortunately, between day 1 and day 2, the corona message and its measures appeared. As a result, we had to postpone the 2nd day for a longer period of time. With hindsight, this turned out to have an advantage: the employees were more accustomed to the new environment and had more concrete ideas about the required flow and matching design per department.
During day 2 we finalized the layouts with tape and made agreements about the new standard. During the aftercare, attention was paid to the day start, 5S progress discussions, assurance and further implementation from 5S.
WHAT TEXTAAFOAM DOES
Textaafoam is a family business that purchases, stores and delivers a wide range of fabrics.
They are located in Tilburg and deliver both coupons of fabric and large stocks.
They also have an experience center where the customer can experience the fabrics live.
TEXTAAFOAM EXPERIENCE WITH THE 5S ROLL-OUT
It seems simple, think of a permanent place, tape it and put it back. But that is not it. There's more to a good one rollout and getting the people on board to achieve the desired result. Because what really is the best place for material and how do you work most efficiently? You sometimes no longer see the points because you have walked past them so often.
It took a while to find the right form, also considering the measures around corona. But after consultation, a good solution was found and nice steps were taken with 5S. There is a clear standard set on the shop floor and there are nice goals set to come to the next level.